Baird Financial Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in VeriSign, Inc. $VRSN

Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN) by 26.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,570 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,051 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of VeriSign worth $31,933,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VRSN. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in shares of VeriSign during the first quarter valued at about $1,481,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in shares of VeriSign by 211.0% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 793 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL acquired a new stake in VeriSign in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in VeriSign by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,514,290 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,669,263,000 after purchasing an additional 119,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI purchased a new stake in VeriSign in the first quarter valued at approximately $230,000. 92.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VeriSign Stock Performance

VRSN opened at $249.54 on Friday. VeriSign, Inc. has a one year low of $189.65 and a one year high of $310.60. The company has a market cap of $23.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.08 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $254.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $270.81.

VeriSign (NASDAQ:VRSN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The information services provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.02. VeriSign had a net margin of 49.86% and a negative return on equity of 40.66%. The firm had revenue of $419.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $416.71 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.07 earnings per share. VeriSign’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

VeriSign Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. VeriSign’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.90%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thomas C. Indelicarto sold 501 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.62, for a total value of $126,562.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 32,110 shares in the company, valued at $8,111,628.20. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Danny R. Mcpherson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.87, for a total value of $592,175.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 28,577 shares in the company, valued at $6,769,033.99. The trade was a 8.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 47,839 shares of company stock worth $12,651,601 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VRSN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of VeriSign in a research report on Monday. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on VeriSign in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $270.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of VeriSign to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $325.00 price objective on shares of VeriSign in a report on Friday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $281.67.

VeriSign Company Profile

VeriSign, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides domain name registry services and internet infrastructure that enables internet navigation for various recognized domain names worldwide. The company enables the security, stability, and resiliency of internet infrastructure and services, including providing root zone maintainer services, operating two of thirteen internet root servers; and offering registration services and authoritative resolution for the .com and .net domains, which supports global e-commerce.